essential oils, herbs, potions & notions

Vetiver, herbaceous loveliness

Vetiver essential oil has a unique aroma — it is a grass, so it smells grassy of course, but is deeply complex, smoky and almost musky. It — or a synthetic equivalent — is in approximately 90% of today’s perfumes. Being very thick and sticky, it literally acts as a fixative in blends to be the basest of base notes. It makes the scent linger longer, and we like that.

But beyond it’s talent of fixative, and pleasure for the olfactory system, vetiver is therapeutic. It is a muscle relaxant, helps with nervousness and insomnia, and can be massaged into body areas suffering from rheumatism.

While looking for an image of vetiver online, I came across an amazing website. Here they mention that vetiver might be used to help with the recent Gulf oil spill. I am again in awe of the plant kingdom. Check it out: